Construction Begins on Local Bridge
WFIE-TV – Feb 01
Big delays are in store for motorists who use a heavily traveled Tri-State bridge.
Construction is set to begin on the Wabash bridge, linking southern Illinois and southern Indiana. But this project will be creating several headaches for drivers.
One-point-five-million vehicles use the 50-year-old Wabash bridge every year.
Therefore, most agree the $15 million construction project is needed, but that doesn’t make the expected delays any easier to swallow.
Daily runs to Evansville are the norm for White County paramedics.
Chris James, with White County Ambulance Services, responds, “A lot of patients’ doctors are in Evansville.”
And the number of patients needing transport is climbing. In December, the hospital in Carmi shutdown.
Mike Lydick, who’s also from White County Ambulance Services, adds, “Nowadays, with going to Evansville, going to McCleansboro, to Fairfield, it takes time. Time takes away from an ambulance, so we’re running two crews 24 hours a day now.”
The Wabash Memorial Bridge serves as a lifeline for getting patients to Evansville, an option that will likely mean delays for the next few years.
Major bridge construction, including tearing-up the deck and painting the entire structure, is expected to begin at anytime.
James says, “That makes the whole game different. If you’re on the southeast part of the county, where the bridge is located, we’re going have to start going to Farrell. If it’s a bad trauma case, we’ll be flying them out, using Airevac or LifeFlight.
Construction crews will work in 1500 foot sections, restricting traffic to one lane in one direction. And this traffic headache isn’t going away anytime soon, work is expected to take over two years.
Drivers who use the bridge aren’t thrilled, but agree the work needs to be done.
One driver says, “It’ll look better afterwards. Want it to be safe, that’s the main thing.”
Another comments, “I got the same thing over in Eldorado, and they have flagmen that move it through cuz they’re building bridges over there. So I don’t think it’s going to be too big a problem.”
If all goes as scheduled, work should be completed by September of 2014.
The New Harmony and Shawneetown bridges are expected to help alleviate some of the vehicle traffic on the Wabash bridge.
Delays over the Wabash
